San Francisco International Film Festival 2001
The 44th San Francisco International Film
Festival took place from April 19 to May 3, 2001. Of the 100+ films
overall, 10 played in Menlo Park at the Park Theater, and of these I managed
to see 8.
-- Mike, 5/5/2001
Here are the films I saw in approximate descending order of preference:
-
Wo de
fu qin mu qin (1999,
SFFS
link, English title: The Road Home):
This is an enchanting story of love and devotion brought out by wonderful
images (most in actual Technicolor, which is only currently being used
in China) and acting (especially Yuelin
Zhao, although Ziyi Zhang
from Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon was also good); in Mandarin with subtitles
-
Sous
le sable (2000, SFFS
link, English title: Under the Sand):
This film about the process of letting go of a lost loved one is well
worth seeing for the performance of Charlotte
Rampling, who appeared briefly before the film to introduce it; in
French with subtitles
-
Princes
et princesses (1999,
SFFS
link, English title: Princes and Princesses):
6 very imaginative short stories for children of all ages, linked by
a common framework; 1 minute pause in the middle with an explicit suggestion
for the audience to discuss the film so far; created with paper and a 16mm
camera; in French with subtitles
-
Code
inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (2000, SFFS
link, Engish title: Code Unknown: Incomplete Tales
of Several Journeys):
This is a hard film to pin down, with a very innovative structure of
various intercut stories, often with abrupt transitions; a film within
the film makes it hard to determine what is real and what is not; in French
with subtitles
-
Que
no quede huell (2000,
SFFS
link, English title: Without a Trace):
This is a good female buddy picture, but with relationships that are
less well-defined and change more than would ever occur in a standard Hollywood
film; the cinematography was wonderful at times, and the use of song lyrics
to advance the plot was innovative for a non-musical; in Spanish with subtitles
-
Duze
zwierze (2000, SFFS
link, English title: The Big Animal):
This is a lightweight concept comedy; fun but nothing special; in Polish
with subtitles
-
Tangsir
(1974, SFFS link):
I suspect that this is a fine film that I would appreciate better if
I knew more about the circumstances of its creation, but at the time it
simply felt like an overacted melodrama about a man fighting back against
a corrupt system; the film also needs significant restoration as its color
has faded substantially; in Persian with subtitles
-
Korotkiye
vstrechi (1967,
SFFS
link, English title: Brief Encounters):
Somehow I just couldn't manage to stay awake during this film, even
though it got the highest rating on IMDb of all of these 8 films; in Russian
with subtitles
Filmography links courtesy of IMDb and
San
Francisco Film Society.
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Copyright © 2001-2003 by Michael S. Weston. All rights reserved.